Saturday 20 September 2008

Scheduled podcast listening?

Now this is strange. Podcasts are meant to free us from linear broadcast schedules, and from broadcast-receiving devices such as, err, radios. You can listen to podcasts anywhere you want, at whatever time you want. Total freedom from the old broadcast schedule world. Fantastic.

So, why am I finding that I have, without thinking about it, created my own listening schedule almost (but not quite) as rigid as a broadcast schedule like this. For example, I nearly always listen to the wonderful Mayo & Kermode film podcast from Five Live whilst lying in bed on a Saturday morning, about 8.30am. I've been listening to this podcast since the very first edition several years ago now, and I reckon 90% of my listening has been at the same day/time. Likewise, I pretty much always listen to The Guardian's Media Talk podcast on a Monday morning.

Clearly, it's not rocket science to work out why: it's just a habit I've got into in the same way that I always wake up to Radio 4's Today programme. Freed from any place or time constraints, I still choose to effectively listen at a scheduled time. OK, it's a scheduled time of my own making, but it's still a scheduled time.

Not sure if this has any significance at all, or if it's just me that does this, but it's fairly amusing when you think of it.